[Mr Mackey]

All sorted, took it to a shop for them to sort the removal. It had burn marks on the outer race, so it wasn’t coming out easily.

The new one is in, all back together, noise be gone..

I recommend the best approach to this job for a DIY: Take the knuckle off whole, go to a good mech, and ask them to sort the bearing out (buy the bearing yourself first), and then put the knuckle back on. Good ones don’t seem to charge a lot, and it makes the job much easier. Much easier. Muchhh easier.

[Mr Mackey]

After a long day trying to get the bearing off – I got most of it apart and the inside of the bearing destroyed itself as I was getting the hub off.. Inner race stuck to the hub, and the guts of it fell out as I was trying to hit the outer race off.

Now I’m left with the knuckle with an outer race I can’t get out (don’t have a press).
I got the inner race off the hub using an angle grinder and some careful activity with the screw driver (just as in the video by ETCG), I even managed to avoid knicking the hub :).

Anyway, I’m stuck witth that outer race, I’ve tried a peice of pipe across the race, and hitting that with a hammer – the pipe 3/8 thick – bent to a near flat shape as I kept hitting it – I wasn’t trying to be nice.

Then I tried the use a bolt and some timber to force it out – but alas, the bolts ended up stripping their threads.

I need some DIY way of pressing out that race.
Worst still, I thought I’d check if the part would fit. Damned too big, so even if I could get the race out – I’d be stuck without the right bearing.

Edit: Oh forgot to add, we don’t necessarily know it was the bearing yet.

[Mr Mackey]

When you turn the key, the fuel pump runs for a few seconds to ensure the system is primed, then shuts off. When the vehicle is started, the crank rotation sends a signal from the crank position sensor (or cam position sensor) to let the ECU know that the engine is turning and should get fuel delivered (turns on fuel pump)…. If this signal is not sent, then the fuel pump will not run…(a safety feature) so gas does not keep getting pumped in case of an accident, etc…

I don’t know what car does that, but that’s a terrible system.

Here’s my understanding of the two common systems:
Return style: Pump runs whilst ignition is running continuously, and a vacuum regulator returns more fuel back to the tank by the return hose when engine load is low, and when engine load is high, the return line is ‘restricted’ to increase pressure behind the injectors.

Returnless style: The pump spins up and as pressure increases, the speed is reduced. The pressure is built up in the rail.

The terrible idea in your comment is that the pump would be cycled like crazy, intermittent running of the pump like that would be generating heaps of electrical noise, and probably heat if they use a circuit that is intended for solid state switching.

Looking at the circuit diagram for my car (obviously won’t be typical of all):
Fuse from ignition switched source, goes to ECU (stall would of course show as 0 RPM, no speed, etc). The ECU completes the circuit to ground for that fused circuit. This fused circuit controls two mechanical relays. The relays are just the typical mechanical relay (they don’t like being cycled often, they will fail).

Two relays, the output of relay 1 goes to relay 2 (safety in case one relay fails on). I know the setup my car shipped with is a return style system hence the pump runs continuously – probably not the most efficient setup – the Mitsubishi engineers got lazy,

[Mr Mackey]

See if you can record it- it does sound like your describing CV problems (though anyone worth anything in automotive would have found that, surely.?).

I had an issue once, I thought it was in the front, it turned out to be a AA battery under the carpet rolling around on the frame – nothing serious, but it sounded horrible. My point here is that if you can’t find it outside, it might actually be inside.
CV joint problem is easy to test for.

[Mr Mackey]

I took the rotor off and the noise was still there.

Now I need a easy DIY way of removing and installing a bearing.. with no press. Any thoughts?

[Mr Mackey]

And so I tested it with just one wheel off the ground each side, with right side up, the noise isn’t there.
With left side up, the noise is there.. thus the left side bearing must be the problem – unless someone can suggest otherwise?

If it looks like, smells like, sounds like.. it must be?

[Mr Mackey]

I’m fairly sure this is a match to the noise video I posted.

[Mr Mackey]

Thermostat test:
As the car heats up, the thermostat opens and let’s coolant return back to the engine, thus, when the engine is running, the top hose will get ‘warmer’ and the bottom hose will stay cold.
As it starts to get really hot, the bottom hose will get warm (and the fans will kick in). This proves the cooling system works.

Check radiator cap – stupid? it is. I once got the head machined on my car, put it all back together, tested it all out and found the radiator cap as the fault. Crazy right.
If the seal around the cap is dodgy, replace it.

Test cooling system:
You can do this easily: Do it OUTSIDE (CO gas can kill you), let the car run. 15 minutes or so and it should be up to temperature at idle. You’ll see the fans kick in and the temperature gauge should stay ‘below half way’. Also, the hose temperatures will feel warmer at top hose and bottom hose, proving coolant is flowing through the radiator and back to the engine.

You’d think the mechanic would have done this..

[Mr Mackey]

I dunno if the F150’s have an Idle Bypass line (probably do!).. this sounds like it’s gummed up with crud, or the actuator that controls the bypass line isn’t responding correctly.

Link to something that might help:
http://www.f150hub.com/maintenance/iac-valve.html

[Mr Mackey]

I did the test with the wheels off the ground and have a video linked below, listen for the deceleration – carefully, you’ll hear the 4cyl decelerate, and then you’ll hear the noise I’m referring to. This was taken inside the car, left side, under the glove box.

Testing on the stands: 140kph, and the noise decreases as the car slows down.

The left sound is where I’m noticing it. When I accelerate whilst on the stands it vibrates crazy. The only noise by hand sounds like warped rotors. The left side is where I feel more drag when trying to spin the wheel. The right side spins more freely.
It’s interesting that in the video, the loudest sound you hear is actually the problem sound. At the end, the slower decelerating sound is the sound.

Link to video: http://tinypic.com/r/25529md/8

It is the sound that trails, that doesn’t decelereate when the car is still rolling, it continues and then as the car slows, the sound does.
I hope my previous description matches the video sound – if not, please let me know.

I also tried testing for play by grabbing the wheel spokes at 12 and 6 and testing for any movement, none found.

Hopefully the video gives some insight..

[Mr Mackey]

Just another thing, the sound sounds like the car is driving at 3000 RPM, that kind of sound, slightly different.
Any thoughts?

I tried to see if it would change side today if I turn the wheel slightly (side to side inside of the lane), and that didn’t noticeably change if that helps.

What do I test next?

[Mr Mackey]

Thanks for the reply, but I doubt the exhaust – the sound exists when:
– Clutch is in (therefore engine is at idle) – the sound is unchanged.
– Engine is off (therefore engine is not exhausting) – the sound is unchanged.

When I said changes with speed, I meant vehicle speed, not engine sped.

[Author]

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